April Newsletter
BeNICE week, SPS award ceremony, election guidelines & more
BeNICE week at Agnes Stewart Middle School
Be nice.
That was this week’s mission at Agnes Stewart Middle School – and it was a success.
Students gathered in the school’s gymnasium Thursday morning for the culmination of BeNICE week – a four-day event organized by Agnes teacher Ricci Huling that encourages students to be nice, feel gratitude, build community and understand how positivity can influence their own lives.
Huling also said that the behavior campaign aims to help students feel safe at school and to know that they community of people to “build them up and help them.”
Students at the school say the effort breeds a feeling of light and positivity throughout school.
“By the end of the week, people are just nicer to each other,” said eighth-grade student Emma Dyemartin. “It reminds people to be nice and help others around them.”
Throughout the week, students and staff focus on kindness with notes, words of encouragement and acts of service. This year’s week of kindness looked a little different than in years past, as the program was expanded to also focus on compassion following the death of one of the school’s students last week.
Friday’s assembly began with a moment of silence for the boy – not a single one of the nearly 600 students made a sound.
Principal Jeff Fuller said Friday that the tragic news of the boy’s death was difficult for some to comprehend, but that students at the school rallied to provide comfort to one another.
“I actually think that having BeNICE week after receiving that news was a really good thing for the students,” Fuller said. “We were able to change the focus to compassion and reaching out to each other.”
In addition to the school’s increased focus on kindness, extra counselors were present at the school provide space for students and staff to talk and grieve.
“It was a difficult but this week’s events brought some cheer and gladness,” Fuller said.
Springfield Award Ceremony
Nominations are still being accepted for this year’s awards celebration set to be held April 16 at Thurston High Auditorium.
The districtwide awards ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m., with a social reception and desserts at 6 p.m. Please join us as we honor our colleagues and the exceptional work that occurs across our district on a daily basis.
Classified nominations have already been received, however, there is still time to nominate a certified staff member as well as supervisors and administrators. Please utilize the links below to submit your nominations.
Administrator/Supervisor Nominations
Administrators, please submit your volunteer nominations to pr@springfield.k12.or.us with a short message about their work.
Budget adoption
With the recent release of the legislative co-chairs budget proposal, the superintendent and the leadership team continue to work on crafting the FY 2020 budget proposal. The final proposal will be brought to the budget committee during its May meetings.
Based on the current projections, it appears that next year’s budget will remain consistent with the district's current service level. Meaning that should the state adopt the current proposal for the state school fund, the district would receive a relatively similar allocation to the funds it received this current year, covering all current activities. The allocation likely would not result in large reductions.
Earlier this year, Superintendent Smolnisky and Chief Operations Officer Yancey shared the preliminary projections in greater detail. A video of that presentation can be found here.
Any questions about the budget can be shared with your supervisor, or emailed to budget-input@springfield.k12.or.us
Election Activities
As public employees, it is important to remember that we are bound by certain election activity regulations. This issue often arises during hotly contested general elections, bond campaigns or other statewide initiatives of importance, but it also applies to special elections such as the upcoming School Board election.
Please take a moment to review the attached file below, which highlights allowed and prohibited activities to ensure compliance with state regulations.
SPS Communications
Email: pr@springfield.k12.or.us
Website: www.springfield.k12.or.us
Location: 640 A Street, Springfield, OR, USA
Phone: 541.726.3331
Facebook: facebook.com/SpringfieldPS
Twitter: @springfieldps